H-E-B Connects Shoppers to Pet Care Pros

If visitors to Texas grocer H-E-B are thinking of things they need to take care of when they get home—especially regarding their pets—the grocer now offers a way for them to get a head start on home-related tasks before they are even done shopping. The retailer has entered into a new partnership with Thumbtack, a home services platform, to facilitate access to pet care professionals and, in some instances, landscapers, repair people and other local providers of services to meet the needs of homeowners, according to a press release. Thumbtack has opened 300 displays in H-E-B stores featuring a QR code that customers scan to access third-party pet care providers for services such as dog grooming, pet sitting and training. The displays in select stores will additionally point customers to options like handyman services, lawn care and house cleaners, all at a 10 percent discount. This represents Thumbtack’s first move into physical retail. The move comes as retailers expand B2C and B2B service offerings as they rethink the retail business model. Some of the nation’s biggest retailers are avowedly taking this tack. In 2021, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said, “for an increasing number of customers, Walmart will be seen more like a service.” Walmart in 2020 partnered with Rover to allow Walmart customers to book dog walking and pet sitting services at a discount. The partnership came after Walmart opened its online and in-store pet pharmacy the previous year. While the only stores H-E-B has in the U.S. are in Texas, the chain is the largest privately-owned company in that state and, according to a 2022 Forbes list, the sixth largest privately-held employer in the U.S. The retailer also consistently ranks high in customer satisfaction. This year H-E-B returned to the number one spot in dunnhumby’s annual consumer survey after dropping down to the number two spot in 2021, according to a press release.

• Thumbtack Launches First-Ever Retail Experience with H-E-B — Business Wire

• Are you ready for the retailer-as-service revolution? — RetailWire

• Walmart goes to the dogs (and cats too) — RetailWire

• Forbes list names H-E-B as the 6th-largest private company in the U.S. — KUT Austin

• H-E-B returns to the top spot as the #1 U.S. grocery retailer — H-E-B